Agri News, MN
06-27-06
Future looks bright for Iowa cattle industry
By Jean Caspers-Simmet
Agri News staff writer
NEVADA, Iowa -- Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the college of agriculture at
Iowa State University, was recently challenged by an Iowa cattle producing family
to imagine a future with 1 million additional cattle in the state.
Speaking at the Iowa Cattlemen's Association Summer Conference in Nevada,
Wintersteen said agriculture is what Iowa does, and ISU wants to be a partner
with producers.
Iowa has the potential to grow its cattle industry and as the epicenter of what is
happening in the bioeconomy, the two go hand in hand.
"Iowa is the lowest cost producer of commodity beef, and we do a good job of
producing high quality beef,'' Wintersteen said.
ISU is committed to addressing the needs of the agricultural industry through
research and education, Wintersteen said. The Iowa Beef Center has made
growing the cattle industry a focal point. ISU has a long done research on
feeding coproducts and is leads the way in feeding ethanol coproducts.
She said ISU continues researching ways to farm environmentally friendly. ISU
developed alternative systems to handle feedlot runoff. ISU has the best meat
science program in the country with researchers looking at food safety, consumer
preferences and beef quality. ISU's beef breeding work has led to some of the
country's top Angus genetics. ISU faculty are leading development of pig, cattle,
chicken, corn and other crop genomes.
"Genomics will change all our lives,'' Wintersteen said.
Angelo Fili, executive vice president of Greater Omaha Packing Company, said
his firm's goal is longevity.
"We've been in business since 1920, and we've been doing business with some
Iowa families that long," he said.
Iowa cattle are "repeatable," Fili said.
"They'll be the same time after time," he said. "We believe no state has better
finishing areas than Iowa. We prefer those I-80 cattle. Almost every animal from
Iowa grades a little better, and they're delivered on time."
Greater Omaha prefers to deal with Iowa's family operations not 500,000 head
feedlots, Fili said.
Jonathan Gladney, regional Extension agent with Auburn University Extension in
Alabama, said Iowa and the upper Midwest have molded the Alabama cattle
program.
The majority of Alabama cow herds are 30 to 75 head, Gladney said. Few
producers raise cattle full time.
About 15 years ago, cattle sold by Alabama producers ended up in Iowa and did
well. Since then he's been working on plans to improve the management of cow
herds. He's worked with producers on weaning, vaccination, dehorning,
castrating and organizing cattle into truck load lots.
"Iowa wants value-added cattle, and you pay more than anyone else in the
country for them," Gladney said.
Gladney helped organize Alabama Pasture-to-Rail, an educational program to
give producers individual farm growth and carcass data. Gladney also helped
create the Alabama Feeder Cattle Council to market Alabama calves.
"I see more people working to bring you the cattle you want," Gladney said.
"They want you to be happy and keep coming for cattle. By talking to each other,
we'll get this done."